.:Believing Hearts:.


I know, original title, right?

But who cares! Diakko Week is finally here! I'm so excited to be participating, and I'm even more excited that my passion for writing seems to have come back just in time. I've wanted to write a LWA fic for a while now, so what better time than during the week dedicated to my OTP? I've even already got ideas for multi-chaptered fics for these two, of which you'll be getting snippets or sneak peaks of on later days this week. So stay tuned!


Day One: Stars/Astrology

Star-Crossed Believers

It had been three weeks since Akko had released the Grand Triskellion.

It had been three weeks, and Diana's world had already changed so much.

Actually, her world had begun to change long before that.

Most likely, her world began to change the day Atsuko Kagari came into her life.

The day she came into all of their lives.

Diana's pensive look morphed into a more affectionate one as she continued her routine rounds of Luna Nova's halls on her nightly patrol.

It wasn't like this change in her life was bad, though she had had a hard time believing that at the very beginning. Ever since the start, it seemed like she and Akko had clashed at every opportunity, but now that she had matured and could look—and quite fondly at that—back on how things had transpired, Diana realized her life could have changed even sooner.

If only she hadn't been so stubborn in her ways of past and tradition.

If only she had been more accepting of Akko at the start.

Diana sighed, her breath echoing throughout the empty halls. She hated how her past self had acted all too often around the Japanese girl; thinking about it now caused her stomach to churn in discomfort. How could she have been so cold? How could she have acted so superior? So much better?

For coming from a family with the motto of affection, she sure hadn't been very such when it perhaps mattered most.

But she was making amends for her behavior now; she had been trying ever since Akko came to bring her back to Luna Nova.

Her perspective of the girl had started to change as early as the Samhain Festival, but it wasn't until they revived the fifth Word together that Diana truly saw Akko in a different light.

And now she couldn't see her in anything but.

In the dark of the night, when she knew no one around was to see, Diana allowed herself to smile as she thought of the brunette.

Yes, Akko Kagari had definitely changed, and because of her, Diana was changing as well.

The Cavendish heiress had always been undecided on what she thought of fate, but ever since meeting Akko, it seemed fate had been becoming a larger and larger player.

Just as it appeared to be doing now.

Sure enough, as Diana reached her final stop of her rounds, way atop the New Moon Tower, who else should be sitting there under the stars than the girl of her recent musings.

"Akko?"

Diana kept her voice low in hopes not to startle, though she shouldn't have been expecting much knowing whom she was talking to. Of course Akko ended up jolting regardless, clamoring to her feet and spouting excuses before she even got a look at who had found her.

"I-I'm so sorry! I k-know it's past curfew, P-Professor, but the st-stars were just so pretty and I…"

The girl's words trailed off when she realized she wasn't being reprimanded, and she finally let her hands uncover her face, giving Diana quite the spectacular view of the girl's ruby eyes as they blinked owlishly at her.

"D… Diana?"

"Surely you haven't forgotten my sentry duties?" Diana asked, finding it deep within herself to try and add a playful tone to her voice, hoping to put Akko back at ease. "It was only three days ago I caught you sneaking into the kitchen after hours."

As Akko chuckled nervously, eyes darting away from her, Diana herself was a bit startled to feel a flutter in her heart.

Though, she realized, hoping the dark of the night concealed her growing flustered state, she had noticed that seemed to be an all-too-occurring thing when she thought of Akko lately.

It was true that since stopping the cursed missile together, Akko and Diana had become better friends. The two could even be seen hanging out together in between or after classes, not a word of bickering to be heard between them. Sometimes their teams even hung out, most often accompanied by the Green Team as well. In fact, it was almost to be expected to see some of the nine girls together more often than not.

But this feeling deep inside Diana she knew wasn't just any ordinary warmth of friendship. While she was privy to what it meant, she wasn't ready to accept the answer quite yet.

After all, it was a bit too soon, wasn't it?

To have developed feelings for Akko Kagari?

A girl she could barely tolerate up until quite recently?

A girl who had considered herself Diana's rival until Diana herself had to clear it up?

No, Diana Cavendish most certainly wasn't falling for Akko.

Or, she hadn't fallen that hard yet.

"W-Well, aren't you going to scold me now too?" Akko's meek voice snapped Diana from her reverie; a welcomed relief with the way her thoughts had been heading.

"I wouldn't exactly consider letting you leave with that plate of brownies before a scolding," Diana managed to quip back, allowing a friendly smirk to curve her lips.

Friends bantered like this, right?

Regardless, if it got Akko smiling again, anything was worth it.

"Heh-heh. Guess so!"

Diana's smile grew.

There it was. That smile she was so fond of.

Shoot.

Diana realized she was going to have to reevaluate the pace of her 'falling' once returning to her room.

"S-So!" she exclaimed, hoping Akko didn't catch her stammer as she worked to put her neutral—yet always friendly, for Akko—façade back in place. "What were you doing up here?"

"Oh!" Akko likewise exclaimed, her eyes lighting up much like the sky above them. "I was stargazing!"

Diana couldn't recall Akko ever being too interested in things like the stars before. At least, not enough to risk coming out after curfew just to look at them.

"You enjoy stargazing?"

She didn't mean for her question to sound as rude as it did, truly, yet Akko didn't seem to take any offense. Diana found herself a bit relieved as the girl turned back away from her, choosing to look back up at the sky as she answered.

"I mean, I don't know many of the constellations, but I've always found the night sky to be so fascinating. Beautiful too. You have no idea all this is up there during the day, you know? Why does something this beautiful have to hide during the day?"

Akko looked back to Diana then and flashed her goofy, signature grin, and Diana felt another flutter within her.

"Like, I know the stars are still actually there during the day and don't actually hide, and I know it's because of the sun that we can't see them then, but still… Why does it have to be like that? Do you ever think about that, Diana?"

The thought was truly childish at best, yet it was so Akko at the same time, and that made it all the more worthy to mull over as far as Diana was concerned. Maybe she was just pulling meaning from the air, but it seemed Akko wasn't really questioning the functionality of it all, but rather just the wonder of it. Why couldn't everything just live in tandem with everything else? Why did something like the sun have to overpower something just as brilliant as the thousands of stars?

"I suppose…it is an intriguing idea, yes."

Akko beamed at her again before eagerly—yet still managing to be gentle—taking Diana's hand and bringing her back to the ledge where she had been sitting moments before.

"Akko, I need to…"

"Just humor me for one minute, Diana," Akko requested. "Please?"

It wasn't like Diana could have said no even if she had wanted to.

Diana let herself be pulled down onto the cold stone beneath them, following Akko's posture and letting her legs dangle off the ledge. Akko hummed as she leaned back on her hands, Diana choosing instead to place hers in her lap as she joined Akko in looking up at the sky.

When the silence became just a bit too awkward for Diana's liking, she spoke up.

"Do you have a favorite constellation?"

"I never really did before, but now I think it's gotta be the Big Dipper."

Seeking out said cluster of stars, Diana allowed another smile.

"And why is that?"

"Because of the Shiny Rod!"

Diana did her best to hide her chuckle beneath her breath, not wanting to come across as rude. It was such an Akko-like answer.

And yet the rest of the girl's answer wasn't, and made everything inside Diana come to a grinding halt.

"And because of you, Diana."

"M-Me?"

Maybe she should consider seeing a speech coach tomorrow as well, Diana thought briefly. She had never stuttered this much before in her life.

"Yeah!"

Suddenly all she could see were rubies, and Diana felt her face becoming the same shade of red that was filling her vision.

"The day we saved the world together!" Akko was recalling animatedly beside her. "Remember afterwards? When we were up in space with the Shooting Star? The Rod dissolved and the seven stars formed the Big Dipper. I had never made the association on my own, but after that I remembered Professor Ursula mentioning something kinda along those lines before. That moment was just so peaceful, and the sight was so amazing, and the company was so perfect!"

The…company was perfect?

Did that mean Diana had been perfect?

Damn, Diana thought in mild annoyance, now the fluttering was back in even greater intensity.

"Every time I see the Big Dipper now, I think about that exact moment; that peace. I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I feel like that moment really captured our friendship perfectly, you know? Like, it was because of all we did together that we got to that point! We were able to come together when it mattered and did something amazing with the other! And it's only gotten better since then! No offense, Diana, but I never thought hanging out with you would be so fun, but I've never been happier to be proven wrong! You're becoming one of my best friends, you know? And so, yeah, I think of the Shiny Rod and you whenever I look at the stars."

Diana felt a burning behind her eyes, but would refuse to admit anything up until her dying day. Instead, emboldened by Akko's kind words, she silently took the girl's hand in her own and gave her her most affectionate smile to date.

"I think of you whenever I look at the stars too, Akko," she fondly admitted, and that wasn't something she just pulled from the air in the spur of the moment.

"You do?!" Akko squeaked, her hand grasping Diana's tighter, and the heiress praying Akko's cheeks were coloring for similar reasons as her own.

"Do you want to know why?" Diana asked, managing to ooze even more playfulness into her tone.

Akko just nodded silently, and Diana couldn't help giggling out loud because the reason was staring right back at her in that moment.

"Because of your eyes."

Those eyes that were blinking humorously at her yet again.

"My…eyes?"

"Mm-hmm," Diana hummed with a nod. "Even back when we first met, your eyes would always light up like the night sky whenever you were motivated or determined—and most of the time that was to prove me wrong."

Both girls shared a laugh at the tease, and neither noticed nor cared when they scooted an inch closer together, their hands still interlocked between them.

"Every time I saw those eyes sparkle, I could just see the universe looking back at me. You've always been very expressive, Akko, and now that we've become closer, I'm no longer afraid to admit that it brings me such joy to see that spark. In fact, that blaze has rekindled the light in me as well."

"Is…that why you took my hand up in space? Because you were looking at the Big Dipper too?"

This time, Diana knew very well she was blushing, and when she looked away in embarrassment, she found she couldn't bring herself to mind too much when she heard a light chuckle come from the girl beside her.

"I'm sure you were hoping I didn't notice, and the contact was only for a second, almost like you hadn't thought about it until you'd done it, but that only made me more certain about the connection between the Dipper and you. You could've held my hand, Diana; I wouldn't have minded."

The brunette looked down at their hands then, and Diana hesitantly let her own gaze follow. Akko smiled at their contact, and Diana felt another gentle squeeze.

"I definitely don't mind now," she said on a quiet breath.

"N-Neither do I," Diana echoed.

Diana didn't stop Akko from moving even closer, nor did she stop the gentle contact that was Akko's nose bumping against hers. In fact, Diana relished in the contact—welcomed it eagerly as she let out a laugh (or had it been a sob?) and let her own nose trail down Akko's cheek until they were breathing each other's air.

Though the feeling between them was electric, Diana couldn't help feeling a bit relieved when Akko turned her head to instead lay it lightly on Diana's shoulder, a pleasant sigh escaping those lips that had come all too close to Diana's own.

If this night had shown her anything, it was that she had definitely fallen hard for Atsuko Kagari and that the girl more than likely felt similar towards her, if not exactly the same. Still, Diana wasn't quite sure she was ready to confirm that thought with…that yet.

Gods, could she really not even say it? They had come so close to it already; a simple inch was all that had remained between them seconds ago, yet Diana still couldn't find it within herself to put word to action.

Still, as Akko hummed pleasantly beside her, Diana didn't hesitate to rest her own head atop Akko's. She didn't hesitate to pull their still joined hands into her lap, where she proceeded to trace her thumb across the back of Akko's hand. And she didn't hesitate to forget all about her patrol to spend the rest of the night beside the girl who had made all the stars in the sky shine even brighter for her.